Paint storage container

ABSTRACT

A reusable paint container is disclosed which may include a tub to which a lid is removably attached and lockable thereto by a handle pivotably attached to the tub. The tub can be manufactured to include a side wall which flares outwardly and upwardly from a bottom wall to an upper rim. In so doing, the containers are nestable when not in use and easily stackable when in use. Moreover, the upper rim can be provided so as to include built in pouring spouts and brush wiping edges to facilitate use of the container.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 60/337,237 filed on Dec. 5, 2001.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] The disclosure generally relates to painting apparatus and, moreparticularly, relates to containers for storing paint after initial use.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0003] After completion of a typical painting job, home owners orprofessionals are confronted with the prospect of storing the unusedpaint left over from completion of the job. In almost all currentinstances, such storage consists of reattaching a metal lid to a metalpaint can. More specifically, the metal paint can typically includes acircular bottom wall from which a cylindrical side wall upwardly extendsand terminates in an upper lip having a circumferential groove. The lidis manufactured to be substantially planar but to include acircumferential rim adapted to be received in the lip of the can. Ifsufficient pressure, i.e., hand pressure or that from the tapping of ahammer, is applied, the lid can be forced into the can lip to create aneffective seal.

[0004] While such a system is effective, it does suffer from a number ofdrawbacks. For example, painting, be it through use of a brush, a rolleror the like, typically results in substantial drippage of the paint overthe side of the can. For example, when pouring the paint from the caninto a paint tray for use of a roller, the cylindrical nature of the candoes not lend itself to clean, drip-free pouring. Accordingly, theoutside of the can becomes covered in dried paint thereby coveringvaluable information printed on the label of the can, such as brand orcolor. At the very least, such dried paint is messy and unattractive.This is especially so when reattaching the lid to the can, in that paintresiding in the circumferential top rim of the can will splatteroutwardly when the lid is tapped closed.

[0005] Moreover, while such a metal lip to metal lid does create a seal,its effectiveness is directly related to the degree of care exercised bythe user when storing the paint. Such cans are also often difficult toopen, either at initial purchase, or after initial use. In either event,a separate tool such as a screwdriver or the like is needed to pry thelid from the can at various locations.

[0006] In addition, as such cans are typically manufactured from metal,they are necessarily opaque thereby preventing the user from immediatelyidentifying the color of the paint stored within the can. The use ofmetal also lends itself to the creation of rust, especially when thecans are typically stored in basements or other damp environments whichcan lead to oxidation of the metal.

[0007] Finally, given the cylindrical nature of such cans, they are notdirectly stackable in that the diameter of the base of one can directlycorresponds with the diameter of the top of another can, and thus if notperfectly balanced, will not stack. This problem is accentuated if thelids are not fully and completely tapped down, thus resulting in anon-flat surface upon which to stack.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0008] In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a reusable paintcontainer is disclosed which may include a tub, a lid, and a handle. Thetub may include a bottom wall from which a side wall upwardly extendsand terminates at a rim defining an open top. The lid may be removablyattached to the top rim and include a flange. The handle may bepivotably attached to the tub and include a groove. The handle may bemovable between locked and open positions with the flange being heldwithin the handle groove when in the locked position, and being removedfrom the groove when in the open position.

[0009] In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method ofstoring paint is disclosed which may include the steps of pouring paintinto a tub, attaching a lid to the tub and substantially sealing thepaint therein, and locking the lid onto the tub by rotating the handle,pivotably mounted to the tub, into engagement with the lid.

[0010] In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, areusable paint container is disclosed which may comprise a tub, a lidremovably attached to the tub, a handle pivotably attached to the tub,and means associated with the handle for locking the handle onto thetub.

[0011] These and other aspects and features of the disclosure willbecome more apparent upon reading the following detailed descriptionwhen taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reusable paint containerconstructed in accordance with the teaching of the disclosure, anddepicted in a first locked configuration;

[0013]FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, but with thecontainer depicted in a second locked configuration;

[0014]FIG. 3 is a side view of the tub of the container of FIGS. 1 and2;

[0015]FIG. 4 is a side view of the lid of FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0016]FIG. 5 is a top view of the tub of FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0017]FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the container of FIG. 2, taken alongline 6-6 of FIG. 2.

[0018] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications andalternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments thereof havebeen shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit thedisclosure to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, theintention is to cover all modifications, alternatives constructions, andequivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0019] Referring now to the drawings, and with specific reference toFIG. 1, a paint container constructed in accordance with the teachingsof the disclosure is generally referred to by reference numeral 20.While the container 20 will be described herein for use in conjunctionwith paint, it is to be understood that in the detailed description thatfollows, as well as the appended claims, the term “paint” is defined asany type of material adapted to be applied to a surface for protectionor decoration thereof. Accordingly, “paint” as used herein includes notonly paint, but stain, lacquers, varnishes, sealants, and the like.Moreover, while the drawings depict a container 20 having a given size,it is to be understood that the teaching of the disclosure can be usedto construct containers of a variety of different sizes including, butnot limited to, pints, quarts, half-gallons, and gallons.

[0020] Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the container 20 is shown toinclude a tub 22, a lid 24, and a handle 26. The lid 24 is adapted to beremovably attached to the tub 22 and the handle 26 is adapted to pivotabout the tub 22. More specifically, the handle 26 can pivot to a firstlocked position above the tub when it is desired to carry the container20, and to pivot into alignment with the lid 24 to a second lockedposition to lock the lid 24 onto the tub 22 as will be described infurther detail herein.

[0021] Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 5, the tub 22 is shown to include abottom wall 28 from which a side wall 30 upwardly extends. The side wall30 terminates in an upper rim 32 and flares outwardly from the bottomwall 28 to the rim 32 in that it increases in diameter from the bottomwall 28 to the rim 32. Moreover, as will be appreciated from FIG. 5, theside wall 30 progresses from a circular shape at bottom wall 28 to asubstantially rectangular shape at the upper rim 32. As defined herein“substantially rectangular” is used to connote the unique shape of theupper rim 32 in that it includes four discernable side walls or edges34. The rim 32 further includes two pouring spouts 36, and two handleattachment points 38. Moreover, while the upper rim 32 may be describedherein as being “substantially rectangular” and including side edges 34,it will be noted from FIG. 5 that the side edges 34 are in fact notlinear but are slightly arcuate.

[0022] The tub 22 further includes a flange 40 which radially extendsoutwardly from the tub side wall 30 proximate the upper rim 32. The tub22 further includes first and second handle pivots or hubs 42 whichextend outwardly from the handle attachment points 38. As will be noted,the handle pivots 42 are of a conventional design in that they include apivot recess 44 accessible by a wedge recess 46. Accordingly, bymanufacturing the handle 26 to have ends 47 with axles 48 of a similaror slightly greater diameter than the pivot recess 44 extendingtherefrom, when the axles 48 are snapped into the pivot recesses 44, thehandle 26 is retained onto the tub 22 and able to pivot thereabout. Theaxles 48 may each include retainers 49 at ends thereof to limit lateralmovement of the handle ends 47 as shown best in FIG. 5.

[0023] Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 4, the lid 24 is shown to include ashape matching that of the upper rim 32. In addition, the lid 24includes a planar top surface 50 from which the mounting lip 52downwardly extends at a circumference 54 thereof. A retaining rim 55further extends downwardly from the mounting lip 52 and therebetweendefines a retention notch 56, as shown best in FIG. 6, adapted tofrictionally receive the flange 40 therein when the lid 24 is attachedto the tub 22. Moreover, when the lid 24 is attached to the tub 22, andthe flange 40 is received in the notch 56, mounting cleats 58, or othersimilar structure, provided on the retaining rim 55 snap over the flange40, and thus reside below the flange 40 to thereby provide a positivemeans for retaining the lid 24 onto the tub 22 until significant forceis applied to the lid 24 for removal thereof.

[0024] As will also be noted from FIG. 4, the lip 52 is provided withfirst and second semi-circular recesses 60 adapted to be mounted overthe handle attachment pivots 38. In addition to providing a notch 56 onan inside surface 62 of the mounting lip 52, the lid 24 is provided witha radially outwardly extending locking ledge 64. The locking ledge 64serves not only as a surface which can be easily grasped by a user forremoving the lid 24 from the tub 22, but is also provided to interactwith the handle 26 in locking the lid 24 onto the tub 22 as described infurther detail herein. Moreover, the recesses 60 provide a surfaceadapted to interact with the handle ends 47 to hold the lid 24 to thetub 22 when in a first locked position.

[0025] Referring now to FIG. 5, as well as FIG. 2, the second lockingposition of the handle 26 is shown in detail. An inside surface 66 ofthe handle 26 is provided with a locking channel 68 adapted to receivethe locking ledge 64 of the lid 24 when the lid 24 is locked onto thetub 22. By providing the locking channel 68, and appropriatelydimensioning the handle 26, the handle 26 is placed under significanttension and into the locked position, thereby holding the lid 24 ontothe tub 22. Only when sufficient and relatively significant force isexerted by the user upon the handle 26, is the handle 26 dislodged fromthe lid 24, thereby freeing the lid 24 for removal from the tub 22 bythe user. In alternative embodiments, it is to be understood thatalternative means for locking the lid 24 onto the tub 22 are certainlyenvisioned and encompassed within the scope of the present invention.Such means may include, but are not limited to, threaded arrangements,snaps, clips, and ties.

[0026] As far as material selection is concerned, the container 20 canbe manufactured from any suitable type of material, but given the desirefor the container 20 to be reusable, easily washable, and to provide asurface to which paints are not likely to stick, any number of polymersare suitable candidates, including but not limited to polypropylene.Such materials can be transparent, translucent, or opaque.

[0027] While the structure and use of the container 20 has beendescribed above in terms of a user desiring to store unused painttherein, the structure described above is also advantageous to retailersor other vendors of such containers. For example, by providing the sidewall 30 so as to flare outwardly from the bottom wall 28 upwardly towardthe upper rim 32, the tubs 22 are easily nestable one within another,thereby conserving shelf space, as well as limiting transportation andstorage costs.

[0028] In operation, the structure described above can be used toconstruct a paint storage container 20. Such a container 20 can be usedwhenever desired by the user, but perhaps most advantageously aftercompleting a painting job, and it is desired to store the remainingpaint from typical conventional metal paint pans. In addition, excesspaint poured into a paint roller tray or the like can be easily pouredinto such a container for subsequent storage and use. After such paintis poured into a tub, the lid 24 can be secured onto the upper rim suchthat the groove 56 of the mounting lip 52 is fully surrounding theflange 40 of the tub 22. The handle 26 can then be rotated from thefirst locked position depicted in FIG. 1, to the second locked positiondepicted in FIG. 2, such that the groove 62 in the handle 26 receivesthe locking ledge 64 of the lid 24 therein. If used in conjunction withother similar containers 20, such containers 20 can be easily stacked inthat since the side wall 30 is tapered so as to flare upwardly thebottom wall 28 is sized to be received in the lid 24 in an easilystackable fashion.

[0029] By manufacturing the container 20 from suitable polymers such aspolypropylene and manufacturing the container to relatively hightolerances, the lid 24 can be secured to the tub 22 in a substantiallysealed fashion thereby ensuring the effectiveness of the paint storedtherein. Once the user again wishes to use the paint stored in thecontainer, the handle 26 can be rotated to remove the locking ledge 64from the groove 62, thus enabling the user to remove the lid 24 from thetub 22. Once in such an open configuration, the shape of the tub 22provides certain additional advantages. For example, the built-inpouring spouts 36 of the tub 22 enable the user to easily pour from thetub 22 in an accurate fashion with less likelihood of any spillage.

[0030] In addition, the side edges 34 of the upper rim 32 are providedin a substantially linear shape to provide a suitable surface againstwhich a brush can be wiped to thus accurately meter the paint providedon the brush and do to so in a clean fashion. Preferably, the materialfrom which the container is manufactured is transparent to thus enablethe user to easily identify the contents contained within the container20. To further assist the user in identifying the contents of thecontainer 20, any number of stickers, labels, or the like can beprovided for attachment to the container 20 or lid 24. For example, theuser can transfer information from the original container from which thepaint is sold to thereby providing such information as brand, color,pigment formula, date of storage, or the like. The tub 22 may further beprovided with a number of graduations 70 to provide indicia to the useras to the volume of paint held within the container.

[0031] From the foregoing, one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate that the teachings of the disclosure can be used to constructa paint storage container enabling paint to be stored in a clean, easilystackable, easily storable, easily identifiable fashion, and to do so ina container which enables the paint stored therein to the easily pouredor metered therefrom. Moreover, the paint container is provided with aneffective, user friendly locking device for ensuring the lid remainsattached to the tub while stored.

What is claimed is:
 1. A reusable paint container, comprising: a tub,the tub having a bottom wall from which a side wall upwardly extends andterminates at a rim defining an open top; a lid removably attached tothe tub rim, the lid including a flange; and a handle pivotably attachedto the tub, the handle including a groove and being movable betweenlocked and open positions, the flange being held within the handlegroove when in the locked position, the flange being removed from thegroove when in the open position.
 2. The reusable paint container ofclaim 1, wherein the tub sidewall is substantially cylindrical proximatethe bottom wall, and substantially rectangular proximate the rim.
 3. Thereusable paint container of claim 1, wherein the rim includes at leasttwo arcuate corners defining pouring spouts.
 4. The reusable paintcontainer of claim 1, wherein the rim includes at least onesubstantially linear edge defining a brush wiping surface.
 5. Thereusable paint container of claim 1, wherein the tub further including alocking flange radially extending outwardly from the tub sidewallproximate the rim, and the lid includes planar top surface from which alip downwardly extends, the lip including a circumferential notchadapted to receive the tub locking flange when the lid is attached tothe tub.
 6. The reusable paint container of claim 5, wherein the lidfurther includes a plurality of locking cleats extending radially inwardfrom the lid lip below the notch, the locking cleats engaging a bottomsurface of the tub locking flange.
 7. The reusable paint container ofclaims 1, wherein the handle hubs extend from the tub sidewall atcorners of the rim between the pouring spouts, the handle is pivotablyattached to the handle hubs, and the lid lip includes first and secondrecesses adapted to receive the handle hubs.
 8. The reusable paintcontainer of claim 1, wherein the tub side wall includes graduationindicia.
 9. The reusable paint container of claim 1, wherein the tubside wall flares upwardly from the bottom wall.
 10. The reusable paintcontainer of claim 1, wherein the reusable paint container ismanufactured from plastic.
 11. The reusable paint container of claim 10,wherein the plastic is transparent.
 12. A method of storing paint,comprising: pouring paint into a tub; attaching a lid to the tub andsubstantially sealing the paint therein; and locking the lid onto thetub by rotating a handle, pivotably mounted to the tub, into engagementwith the lid.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the lid includes a topsurface from which a lip downwardly extends from a perimeter thereof, alocking ledge extends radially outwardly from the lip, and the handleincludes a locking channel, the locking step being performed by rotatingthe handle so as to engage the locking ledge in the locking channel. 14.The method of claim 10, wherein the pouring step is performed by pouringpaint from a manufacturer's can into the tub.
 15. The method of claim10, wherein the pouring step is performed by pouring paint from a paintroller tray into the tub.
 16. A reusable paint container, comprising: atub; and a lid removably attached to the tub; a handle pivotablyattached to the tub; means associated with handle for locking the lidonto the tub.
 17. The reusable paint container of claim 16, wherein themeans includes a channel adapted to pinch the lid.
 18. The reusablepaint container of claim 17, wherein the channel is provided in thehandle.
 19. The reusable paint container of claim 16, where the tubincludes a bottom wall from which a side wall flares upwardly.
 20. Thereusable paint container of claim 19, wherein the side wall includes anupper rim, the upper rim including first and second pouring spouts.